Expect a Watrous weekend this week, as legendary trombonist Bill Watrous lights up the night in Waco and Temple.

Watrous brings his sliphorn to Waco for a jazz party on Friday, May 6, and reprises the party Saturday, May 7, in Temple. Both concerts will feature Watrous with small groups. The concerts are being produced and sponsored by Central Texas Jazz Society, with additional sponsorship by Back-stage Pass Music Center and the Greater Waco Council for the Arts (in Waco) and Scott & White Healthcare (in Temple).

Funds raised by the two concerts will go toward the CTJS jazz schol-arship programs in Temple and Waco respectively. "As the center-piece of our endeavor to implement a comprehensive individual and company sponsorship fundraising program, these performances are integral to the success of our mis-sion,” said CTJS President Larry Simonette.

Bill has a long association with jazz in Central Texas, having played multiple concerts with the Temple Jazz Orchestra and the Temple College Jazz Ensemble during the past 15 years, as well as

joining TJO at the the International Association for Jazz Education conference in New York City in 2007. He has recorded two CDs with TJO, one from a 2003 perfor-mance at the Temple Jazz Festival

and a second from a perfor-mance in 2008.

The two up-coming concerts differ from Bill's previous appear-ances here in that they feature him with a small combo. "These concerts will provide a unique opportunity for aspiring jazz stu-

dents to see a superb improviser in the informal, jam-session-like con-text of a small-group performance", said Colin Mason, CTJS Secretary and Chair of the Department of Performing Arts at Temple College. "It also reflects our commitment to supporting high-quality live jazz in both Temple and Waco".

In Waco, Bill will be joined at various points by Tim Cates, Byron Swann or Alex Parker, trumpets; Greg Bashara or Rob Page, saxophones; Dave Wild or Bill Warren, piano; Evan Klaras, guitar; Vince Bryce, bass; and Jon Kutz or Edward Taylor, drums.

The following night in Temple Bill's back-up band will include

Ce TexewsJazzN

The Newsletter of the Central Texas Jazz Society May – June 2011 Volume 4 Number 3

CenTex Jazz News May – June 2011 Page 1

A Weekend of Watrousness

Trombonist Bill Watrous

(continued on Page 7)

Meet the Board…Larry Simonette

Dr. Benjamin IromDr. Colin Mason

Bill BerningThomas FairlieBrent ColwellGreg Bashara

David WildJohn R. Francis

PresidentVice PresidentSecretaryTreasurerArtistic DirectorBoard of DirectorsBoard of DirectorsBoard of DirectorsLegal Advisor(Attorney at Law)

Neal JakubowskyJim Burns

Evan KlarasGary Smith

Jesse Ybarbo Johnny Walker

Tim CatesAlex Parker

Rob PageKaren Gonzales

Board of DirectorsBoard of DirectorsBoard of DirectorsBoard of DirectorsBoard of DirectorsBoard of DirectorsBoard of DirectorsBoard of DirectorsBoard of DirectorsBoard of Directors

CenTex Jazz News is published bimonthly by the Central Texas Jazz Society,

PO Box 643, Temple TX 76503-0643. President: Larry Simonette

Editor: David Wild Production Assistance: Tony Wild

For more information:www.centexjazz.com

www.wildmusic-jazz.comwww.baylor.edu/baylorjazz/

www.templejc.edu/dept/Music/Jazz/jazz2011.htm

CenTex Jazz News May - June 20101 Page 2

Meet your CTJS board members

Board member Evan Klaras

CTJS Board Member Evan Klaras

Board member Evan Klaras serves as the primary point of contact for CTJS activities in the Waco area. He has been a CTJS board member since 2010.

Klaras has played the guitar professionally for more than 30 years. Evan’s father, Nick Klaras, was a well-

known swing and big band drummer in the Waco area (and founding member of the Waco Jazz Orchestra), and his long-time musician friends were an early influ-ence on Evan's developing interest in Jazz.

Evan began his studies with Ken Frazier at the age of 15. After graduating from Baylor, Evan attended and graduated from the Southwest Guitar Con-servatory in San Antonio, Texas where he studied with

school founder, Jackie King and a list of jazz greats including Herb Ellis, Barney Kessel, Pat Martino and Lenny Breau. He is also an accomplished classi-cal guitarist.

Evan was a past member of the Temple Jazz Or-chestra, is a current member of the Waco Jazz Or-chestra and also serves on the McLennan Community College Commercial Music School Advisory Board. He is a vice president and trust officer at Community Bank and Trust, Waco.

"My favorite guitarists are Wes Montgomery, George Benson, Pat Martino and Ken Frazier," says Evan. "I've also been influenced by Oscar Peterson, Chet Baker and Paul Desmond."

"I really appreciate what Larry [Simonette], Tom [Fairlie] and the other members in Temple have accomplished with CTJS so far," Evan adds. "I am hopeful that the CTJS members in Waco can increase our efforts and raise the awareness and appreciation of jazz performance and education in Waco."

CTJS on the Web...If you haven’t visited the CTJS website recently, you’re missing out on a treat. The URL for the site is www.centraltexasjazz.org.

There’s a wealth of information on the site, including a detailed calendar, photo galleries and back issues of the newsletter. CTJS also now accepts payments on the site using Paypal.

CenTex Jazz News May - June2011 Page 3

Thursday at the jazz festival...

Thursday night’s lineup at the Temple College Jazz Festival (March 24) paired TC Fusion with the Temple College Vocal Jazz Ensemble, directed by Priscilla Q. Santana.

Photos by Jim Burns

CenTex Jazz News May - June 2011 Page 4

TCJF Friday: concert, jam

Friday, March 25, the Temple Col-lege Jazz Ensemble directed by Ben Irom with guest artist Dave Pietro followed by the Jazz Jam at Las Casas Restaurant.

Photos by Jim Burns

CenTex Jazz News May - June 2011 Page 5

Saturday is Vizzutti-day...

March 26, Saturday, was Allen Vizzutti Day, with a clinic at noon and a hot concert with the Temple Jazz Orchestra directed by Tom Fairlie.

Photos by Angie Wild and Jim Burns

CenTex Jazz News May - June 2011 Page 6

Smithsonian Collects Jazz

Jazz: The Smithsonian Anthology

Louis Armstrong

A major event for jazz scholarship and jazz educa-tion occurred in March with the release of Jazz: The Smithsonian Anthology, by Smithsonian Folkways Records (the Smithsonian’s audio division).

JTSA, as it is becoming known, is intended to fill the void created by the out-of-print status of its predeces-sor, The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz (SCCJ), last revised in 1987 and unavailable since about 2000. SCCJ was a regular component of jazz history and jazz appreciation courses for decades.

JTSA weighs in at six CDs containing 111 different re-cordings, covering nearly a century of jazz. The accom-panying booklet includes many rare photographs of the musicians, with individual essays about each track written by such scholars and critics as David Baker, Lewis Porter,

Alyn Shipton, and Jose Bowen. At under $100 it’s relatively affordable.

Inevitably any attempt to reduce jazz to an essential 100 or so recordings will be controversial. JTSA bills itself as an introduction to jazz, but ts choices will undoubtedly establish a new version of the jazz canon. In fact, the blurb on the back of proclaims "if ever there were a 'jazz appreciation course in a box,' this is it" — an open invitation to arguments about what made it into the box and what was left out.

Author and critic Martin Williams had the last say on the 95 recordings which comprise SCCJ, and his opinions inevitably shaped the set. Williams for example felt John Coltrane was overrated; SCCJ contains one Coltrane track ("Alabama"), omitting classics like A Love Supreme and "Giant Steps." Wil-liams wanted to be sure "major figures are given major attention", and he selected multiple tracks by those major artists (Armstrong, Ellington, Basie) at the expense of other recordings influential recordings.

Williams also emphasized the earlier eras of jazz;

after the Bop era there are fewer and fewer selections. SCCJ ends with a track by the World Saxophone Quartet; there is little to reflect avant-garde jazz and no early jazz/rock and fusion.

JTSA by contrast is explicitly the product of a com-mittee which whittled thousands of suggestions down to the final 100. Where SCCJ focussed on major musicians and provided in-depth looks at their work, JTSA is more inclusive, but shallower. SCCJ had eight tracks by Louis Armstrong; JTSA has four. SCCJ excerpted both takes of Charlie Park-er's famous 1947 "Em-braceable You" solo, allowing for a detailed look at the art of the improvisor. JTSA only has one take. There are other trade-offs--JTSA gives us Jimmie Lunc-eford and Chick Webb but cuts the number of Basie tracks. We gain Mary Lou Williams, Shorty Rogers and Stan Kenton but get just one Thelonious Monk track.

Some selections are obvious and relatively non-controversial — Louis Armstrong and Earl Hines on "Weatherbird,” "Boplicity" by the Miles Davis Birth of the Cool band, "So What" by the classic Miles Da-vis Sextet, "Nothing Personal" by Michael Brecker. But it's odd to see Weather Report represented by "Birdland," or Stan Getz by "Girl from Ipanema," two over-exposed commercial hits.

Arguments like these are likely to echo for years. Any attempt to capture jazz in 111 tracks is obvi-ously going to be imperfect. What's important is that we again have a major anthology, well-produced and readily available, with a good, mostly essential selec-tion that outlines the richness of jazz. But obviously, to really understand this music, you still need a good teacher and/or an open mind. Ultimately such a set is most valuable if the listener can climb out of the box and hear what else the music has to offer.

(Jazz: The Smithsonian Anthology is available at http://www.folkways.si.edu/jazz/).

— David Wild

CenTex Jazz News May - June 2011 Page 7

n May 5, “Greg Bashara/Jon Fox,” Uncorked, 1201 Hewitt Drive #200, Waco, 7:30 p.m.

n May 6, “Bill Watrous and Friends,” Barron’s on 5th (1705 N. Fifth St.), Waco, 7:30 p.m.

n May 7, “Bill Watrous and Friends,” In The Mood Ballroom, 13 S. Main St., Temple, 7:30 p.m. n May 9, “Waco Jazz Orches-

tra,” Ball Performing Arts Center, McLennan Community College, Waco, 7:30 p.m.n May 26, ‘‘Dave Wild/Tim

Cates,” Uncorked, 1201 Hewitt Drive #200, Waco, 7:30 p.m.n June 16, “Beto and the Fair-

lanes with the MCC Faculty Jazz Ensemble,” ‘River Sounds, Bosque River Stage, McLennan Commu-nity College, 8 p.m.

(continued from Page 1)Cates; Colin Mason, saxophones; Gary Smith, trom-bone; Ben Irom, piano; Utah Hamrick, bass; and Josh Spurling, drums.

The May 7 Temple performance will be held at the In The Mood ballroom in Temple. The venue for theWaco performance on May 6 performance will be Barron's on 5th (one of the historic houses on Fifth Street with a hall and stage).

Tickets for the Waco performance are $20 for adults and $10 for students; tickets for the Temple performance are $25. Ticket purchasing information (including on-line ticket purchase options) is available from the CTJS website (for Temple), http://centraltexasjazz.org/Upcom-ing_Events.html, and from the Wildmusic-jazz site (for Waco), http: /www.wildmusic-jazz.com/watrous.htm.

Soloist, band-leader and sideman with such jazz greats as Woody Herman, Roy Eldridge, and Count Basie, the Grammy-nominated Watrous has been called “one of the finest bop-oriented trombonists of the past 30 years” by critic Scott Yanow.

A native of Middletown, Conn., Bill worked with trombonist Kai Winding and did studio work in New York City during the 1960’s. Based in LA since the early ’80s, Watrous has remained active in the studios and the clubs, and still leads an occasional big band.

His rendition of the Sammy Nestico arrangement of “A Time for Love,” recorded in 1993, is familiar even to casual jazz fans.

Describing Watrous in the New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, Yanow notes, "His effortless virtuosity and fluid solo style have had a significant influence on other trombonists."

The Watrous WeekendCorporate and individual sponsorships have been a major factor in the success of your CTJS in promot-ing jazz in Central Texas. We'd like you to be aware of the companies and individuals who are contributing to this music. They include:

Scott & White HealthcareWaco Council for the ArtsFriendly TireEmporium Packaging and Spice Company In The Mood BallroomCentral Texas Jazz Society Board of DirectorsNorene E. Miller, Cameron TexasJim Scrivner, Waco, TexasDavid and Margia Barkemeyer, Cameron Texas John Francis and Becky Musil, Temple, TexasSam Burnes, Waco

A Word About Our Sponsors